Clayton School District

Clayton School District in Wisconsin is a small, single-campus district with three schools — one elementary serving PK–4, one middle school serving grades 5–8, and one high school serving grades 9–12 — all sharing the same address on Polk Ave W in Clayton and enrolling 256 students in total. The district is ranked 280th of 432 in Wisconsin, at the 35th percentile with 2 stars, but that overall rating masks sharp differences among its three schools.

Clayton Middle is the academic standout, ranked 212th of 643 at the 67th percentile with 3 stars, up from 37th percentile and 2 stars in 2023–24 — a gain of roughly 30 percentile points. Its 8th graders reach 83.33% proficiency in social studies and 66.67% in science, math, and ELA, all above state rates, though 6th grade math lags at 36.84% versus 53.60% statewide. Clayton Elementary has earned 3 stars in each of the last three ranked years and sits at the 57th percentile, with chronic absenteeism of only 6.0% compared with 12.4% district-wide and 17.3% statewide, plus 3rd grade ELA at 81.25%. Its weaker spots are 4th grade science at 42.86% and 4th grade ELA at 50%.

Clayton High is the district's main concern. It graduates 100.0% of students with a 0.0% dropout rate, both better than the state, yet ranks 442nd of 533 at the 17th percentile with 1 star, down from 2 stars and about 19 percentile points since 2023–24. Proficiency trails the state badly: 8.33% in 10th grade social studies versus a state rate of 48.25%, 25% in 10th grade ELA ACT, 28.57% in math ACT, and 32.14% in science ACT, with chronic absenteeism at 17.3%. Because the middle school has just 46 students and the high school 86, a few students can shift a proficiency rate substantially, so families should weigh multi-year trends and completion outcomes alongside single-year test scores.